Doll, parts of dolls, and method of manufacturing the same



' A.HAJDU Filed Nov. 28, 1932 INVENTOR April 9, 1935.

DOLL, PARTS OF DOLLS, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME rately formed and movable members.

Patented Apr. 9, 1935 PATENT oFFIcE I DOLL, PARTS OF DOLLS, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME Andrew Hajdu, Brooklyn, N. Y., assigncr to The Kelly-Springfield Tire Company, Cumberland, Md, a corporation of New Jersey Application November 28, 1932, Serial No. 644,649

10 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved i doll and certain parts thereof and to a method of manufacture and, with regard to its more specific features, relates to a doll having sepa- All such dolls are included in the term, whether they mimic human beings, animals or are entirely fanciful.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a durable doll which has a torso of resilient compressible and material attractive to children free from any metallic or other rigid elements throughout substantially the entire torso. Another object is to provide such a doll in which the head and limbs may be attached by local means which provide the required degree of free movement and avoid the necessity of any connection between such elements except such as is provided by the covering of the torso.

ber

of said doll;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the torso cover;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the neck member viewed from itsunder side. 1

Referring now to the. drawing, I is a torso or body member formed of a resilient compressi ble. material, such as sponge rubber and having the normal shape of its exterior such as is desired for the torso of the doll. This torso may, if desired, have a central cavity 2 for the purpose of reducing the amount and weight of the material required and to increase its resilience. The torso ,l is provided also with a recess 3 at its upper end adapted to seat a neck memher 4. and is preferably provided also with a recess 5 at each point where a limb is to be attached. Surrounding each recess 5 it is preferable to provide a level bearing surface in. When the torso is provided witha cavity 2 it is possible to associate therewith air operated soundmechanism of any usual type, conventionally nisrn either to the neck member t or to some,

'indicated at 2!, by attaching said mechapart 'of the head is; the compression of the torso forces the air through the mechanism to cause sound to emerge through the neck opening'.

is a cutaneous torso cover formed of readily collapsible material, such as latex or sheet rub; ber, of a thickness preferably about oneesixtieth of an inch, and with an opening i 'at its neck end. By the term readily collapsible is meant a condition in which the torso cover is so pliable as to permit any portion of its interior to be protruded through the opening! without injury to the cover or substantial effort. The ready collapsibility of the torsocover permits the use of a hammer or other tool upon the inside of the torso cover at the desired point for the attachment of limbs by themethod hereinafter described. The torso cover is flexible in the regions surrounding the opening i and'preferably throughout substantially its entire area in order to permit the neck opening to; beexpended forthe reception of the torso and neck member as hereinafter described and to conform to, said] parts; It has substantially the shape of the combined torso I and neck member "4 which it is to enclose, jbut is'slightly smaller so as to provide a snug'fit.

The torso cover 6 is preferablyjfprovided at the area where it ,isjto be attachedtozthe limbs with patches 3 offabric'or other material which is not readily torn and which hasa surface which gives less friction upon the attachedlimb than rubber would have. These patches areate tached to the exterior "of the torso cover 6 in any convenient manner such as by the" use of 0 rubber cement. They maybe of any desired size provided that they do not extend so faras to limit. the necessary elasticity ofcthe torso cover, particularly in the region surrounding the opening i. V

The limbs 9 maybe of any desiredmaterial but are preferably formed of rubber or other durable substance which is resilient and capable of compression without injury. In my preferred embodiment they are formed of hollow molded rubber of a thickness sufficient to maintainthe limb in normal shape when not under compression. The end of each limb which is intended for at- ,tachment to the body is provided with an internal annular groove ila'just within the end. Into this groove is seated a mating an'nular'projection "Illa on the attachment member m which is a relatively rigid disk, preferably of wood, and provided with a centrally located pin l I having ahead at one end and a bendable pointed shaft protruding from said disk. The diameter of the flange I001, is greater than the opening at the end ofthe limb ii in order to. assure a snug fit when the parts are I attachment and is then preferably passed through additional reinforcement in the form of a washer I2 before being anchored as by being bent against this washer. Such bending may, if desired, take the form of a spiral spring as shown in Fig. 1 thus providing a resilient anchorage. The washer I2 is relatively rigid, with a smooth inner surface and a diameter larger than that of the adjacent recess 5 of the torso I and preferably as great as that of the attached end of the adjacent limb. The bent portion of the pin I I may rotate freely against the surface of the washer I2 and within the recess 5 or, if desired, may contact somewhat with the walls of said recess in order to provide the desired degree of friction to resist accidental but to permit intended movement of the limb.

The dolls head I3 may be of any convenient construction such as, for example, of composition material, having a hollow center I4 and a socket I5 where it is to adjoin the neck and being provided with a fixed member it within the hollow center to which the head attaching means can be connected. The hollow center I4 may be connected with a passage through the mouth. of the doll and also to the passage I8 and sound mechanism 2 I, serving to permit escape of air and sound when the torso is compressed. The head I3 is connected with the neck member 4 which is relatively rigid as compared with the torso cover 6, and serves to support it in the neck region in order to provide a firm foundation upon which the head may rest and turn. In the preferred embodiment shown, the neck member 4 is a wooden plug having a projecting member I! conforming in shape to the recess 3 of the torso I to which it is preferably afiixed as by rubber cement. Centrally of the neck member 4 is a passage I8. through which runs a spring or other elastic member I9, the lower end of which is held within the" neck member 4 by a pin 20 crossing belowor driven through the projection I1 and the upper end of which isheld within the head as by being hooked over the fixed member I6. a

The completed doll may thus be entirely of rubher so far as the exposed parts of the body and limbs, and may give the effect of having the body and limbs entirely of rubber for the reason that the torso and limbs may be compressed to any desired extent without encountering any hard objects and without permanent distortion or injury to the doll. The only exceptions to this general resiliency are the small areas adjoining the junctionof the limbs and head with the body. The doll has the further desirable quality of being durable, since it is free from skeleton-like members and elastic connections between limbs which are likely to be broken or wear out before the exterior of the doll.

In constructing the doll, the torso I, the torso I cover Ii, the limbs 9 and the head l3 are all separately constructed. The limbs are then' attached to the torso covert and for this purpose means as shown in Fig. 1.

The neck member 4 is then connected with the spring I9 by the pin 2!! and its projection IT inserted in the recess 3 of the torso where it may be cemented or otherwise fastened into place. The opening I in the torso cover 6 is then expanded and the torso I may be compressed also so that the torso with the neck member 4 is inserted within the torso cover 6; after which the torso cover is allowed to contract upon the torso and neck member. The upper end of the spring I9 is then stretched and connected within the opening I5 of the head It and hooked over the member'lt so that the head rests upon the torso cover above the neck member 4, when the tension on the spring is relaxed.

. The limbs 9 are then attached by expanding the opening in the body end of each to pass over the disk II] until the annular projection Iila, seats within the groove 9a, the attachment being made permanent if desired by gluing or cementing the limbs 9 to the members II] at their adjacent surfaces.

t is to be understood that the order of certain steps may be changed without departing from the scope of this invention. For example, the member Iii may be attached to the limb 9, if desired, before the pin I I is passed through the torso cover 6, the neck member 4 may be attached to the head I3 before the neck member is inserted within the torso cover 6 or seated in the recess 3. Likewise any other form of connection may be used between limbs and torso cover and between head and torso, provided that it does not interfere with the insertion of the torso I in the torso cover 6. The neck member 4 may, if preferred, be cemented to the under side of the torso cover instead of to the torso, or may even be left uncemented, holding its place merely by the elastic tension of the torso cover. It is also to be understood that the exterior portions of the doll may be provided with natural color and other features as is known to the art.

Since certain changes may be made in carrying out the above method and in making said doll and parts without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I-laving described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A doll having in combination a readily collapsible elastic torso cover, a separately formed resilient torso supporting and substantially filling; said cover, limbs separately formed and independently attached to said cover, a neck member within and supporting apart of said cover and a separately formed head seated upon said cover above and attached to said neck member, said attachment of head and limbs being adapted to permit the same to be rotated and retained in a variety of postures. V

2. A doll having in combination a readily collapsible elastic torso cover having reinforcing means in the region of the shoulders and hips, a separately formed resilient torso supporting and substantially filling said cover, limbs separately formed and independently attached to said cover, a neck member within and supporting a part of said cover and a separately formed head seated upon said cover above and attached to said neck member, said attachment of head and limbs being adapted to permit the same to be rotated and a member piercing said reinforcing means and anchored within the same.

3. A new article of manufacture, a pre-formed readily collapsible elastic rubber cover for a dolls torso, having an expansible opening in said cover, and having its surface substantially closing each of the shoulder and hip regions.

4. A doll having in combination an elastic readily collapsible torso cover and. a pre-formed resilient torso and a neck member associated therewith substantially filling and serving as the sole support for said torso cover and separable therefrom, said torso having recesses formed in its hip and shoulder regions.

5. The method of making a doll which includes the steps of making separately a resilient torso, a readily collapsible elastic torso cover having an expansible opening therein, limbs and a head, attaching said limbs separately to said torso cover by means adapted to permit relative rotative movement of said parts, inserting said torso within said cover by expanding said opening, and attaching a head to said torso by means permitting movement of said head.

6. The method of making a doll which includes the steps of making separately a resilient torso, a readily collapsible elastic torso cover having an opening therein, limbs, a head and a neck member, attaching said limbs separately to said torso cover by means adapted to permit relative rotative movement of said parts, inserting said torso and neck member within said cover by expanding said opening and attaching a head to said neck member by means permitting movement of said head.

'7. The method of making a doll which includes the steps of making separately a readily collapsible elastic torso cover having an expansible neck opening, a resilient torso of predetermined shape, and limbs, attaching saidlimbs to said torso cover by means which include members passing through said torso cover and anchored within said cover, and inserting said torso within said cover by expanding the opening of said torso cover.

8. The method of making a doll which includes the steps of making separately a readily collapsible elastic torso cover having an expansible neck opening, a resilient torso of predetermined shape, and limbs, attaching said limbs to said torso cover by means which include members passing through said torso cover and anchored within said cover, and inserting said torso within said cover by expanding the opening of said torso cover, and attaching a head to said doll by means which include a relatively rigid neck member inserted within said cover through said opening.

9. A doll having in combination a pre-formed readily collapsible elastic rubber torso cover, independent and separately movable limbs carried solely by said cover and a pre-formed torso element contained within said cover and serving as substantially the sole supporting and filling means therefor.

10. A new article of manufacture, a pre-formed readily collapsible rubber cover for a dolls torso having an expansible opening in said cover, and substantially closed portions thereof at the shoulder and hip regions, said portions having incorporated therein reinforcing means adapted to resist tear.

ANDREW HAJDU. 

